The first few years of Perry's governorship, he made public a more extensive record of his activities.

But as we reported in 2004, Perry then started releasing only his “state schedule,” which staff said didn't include his political schedule, spur-of-the moment activities or things for which he didn't need a schedule.

His 2010 Democratic challenger, Bill White, sought to make it a campaign issue, noting Perry's official schedule for a six-month period showed an average of seven hours of work weekly.

Perry, then and now, says he's working for Texans regardless of whether it's written down. He said last week that “24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I'm on.”

What a reporter “doesn't have access to is, who am I picking up the phone and calling and talking to? And as we're about to lose a tactical airlift wing up in Fort Worth, I'm talking to the delegation in Washington, D.C. It's not on my schedule, but I'm working and making those calls and what have you,” Perry said.

Too bad Texans don't have access to that information, or to more information about Perry's other official, political and just-plain-interesting activities.

It would be good for Texans to know that even though candidate Perry spent a lot of time bashing Washington, Gov. Perry picks up the phone to call Texas' congressional delegation when he needs to. It could be enlightening to know more about what else he does.

“I think Texans look for results. They're not looking for someone to punch a time clock,” Perry said. “I'll stick with my results, and then they can go make their argument at the next campaign.”

Until then, reporters are left with reporting on the information that Perry chooses to release, even if he assures us there's so much more that he's not telling us.

Math and Education

The Texas State Teachers Association took issue with education funding figures that Perry cited as he stood firm against calling a special session to alleviate public school cuts. Some, including TSTA, want such a session based on an improving economy.

“I think when you have an average of $10,000 per student being spent in Texas, that the issue is not more money,” Perry said.

The National Education Association says that Texas is spending $8,908 per student this school year, based on average daily attendance — down from the previous year, TSTA noted and my colleague Gary Scharrer reported on our Texas Politics blog.

Perry also said he believes public schools account for 56 percent of general revenue spending. But as Scharrer noted, the Legislative Budget Board puts public education at 42 percent of the general revenue budget. The 56 percent figure is accurate when including higher education spending.

Procreation vs Recreation

Former ESPN analyst Craig James has endorsed Rick Santorum for president, and that meant questions about whether he shares some of Santorum's interesting views in a Texas Tribune forum with Evan Smith last week.

James said he believes contraception is a woman's choice. But he said he also believes in abstinence until marriage and that sex should only be for procreation and “between a husband and a wife.”